Rachel's Dream
by MegannLoouise
Summary: This is set in series 1. It's about what could have happened if Nick hadn't dumped Rachel. It includes Rachel, Nick, Janet, Gill, a wedding, oh and Kevin! Big thanks to CaleighWho who told me to put it on here:3
1. Chapter 1

Rachel Bailey sat nervously on the edge of the bath in the bathroom that she shared with her boyfriend, Nick Savage. She loved Nick, so she didn't know why she was feeling so nervous. Maybe because she was worried about what Nick would say, or that he'd find out that she hadn't been completely honest with him.

To tell the truth, this was all that she had ever wanted in life, despite what she told Janet, Alison and, well, everyone else. She figured that even if one of her dreams came true, she would be lucky and now all three had happened at once. Rachel didn't want to get too happy though, something was bound to go wrong, it always does, and she didn't know how she would cope with it all. She may not be able to cope at all and might do exactly what her mother did almost 20 years ago.

_'No!'_ thought Rachel, _'I wouldn't do that. I couldn't do that to Nick, I couldn't do that to our baby.'_

Our baby.  
The thought hit Rachel hard.  
"Our baby," she said out loud.

She glanced at the pregnancy test that was resting on the side of the bath. A little blue plus had appeared. Positive. She was having a baby with Nick but she didn't know how she felt about it, how Nick would feel about it. It could go two ways when she told him: he could refuse to believe her because she was supposed to be on the pill and not want anything to do with his baby, or he could be delighted and want to tell everyone he knew: his mom, his dad, his brother. That was the thing. Rachel didn't have anyone to tell. Her dad was a drunk that roamed the streets of Chadderton, he wouldn't care about his grandchild. Her mother ran off when she was twelve, she obviously didn't care about Rachel, so why should she get to see her grandchild? And Alison would just nag her about eating properly, not drinking and not smoking. She got enough of that from Nick. She only really had Janet. And Gill. She knew exactly what Gill would say when she tells her the time that she needs to go on maternity leave: "Right in the middle of annual leave season, well done, Rachel!" She knew her boss would support her though, like a surrogate mother, because deep down, Gill Murray wasn't that much of a Godzilla bitch.

The front door opened and closed again and Nick entered the flat that he shared with Rachel.

"Rach?" he called out. "Are you home?" He guessed that Rachel wasn't home, there was no glass or half empty wine bottle on the table.

"I'm in here," Rachel replied to Nick's surprise. He knocked on the bathroom door.

"You okay, Rachel?" he sounded worried.

Rachel unlocked the door and looked Nick straight in the eye. "I'm pregnant!" she exclaimed, a huge grin spreading across her face. Nick's mouth dropped in astonishment. He picked up his briefcase that he had put down just a minute before and walked out of the door, leaving Rachel standing there alone.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jan?" Rachel forced herself to speak through the sobs.

"Hiya kid. What's up?" Janet asked, concerned.

"I told Nick and he completely went off on one, he just walked out and I don't know what to do and… and I'm scared, Janet!" Rachel babbled on for another ten minutes about how she thought that Nick was 'the one' and how he was the only person, apart from Janet, that had been constant in her life.

There was a knock at the door. _'What if it's Nick? He hasn't taken his key with him.'_ Rachel stood there, frozen, still in the same place that she'd been in when she told Nick the news. She couldn't bring herself to move, she just couldn't. She thought that maybe, somehow, if she stayed in the same place for long enough and didn't accept that Nick was gone, he would come back, apologise, and they could be the happy family that Rachel always wanted them to be. It was stupid, she knew that, but she still needed a slither of hope to hold on to.

"Rach, it's me," Janet spoke through the letter box. "Can you open the door?"

Rachel raced towards her friend's voice, wanting someone to comfort her and to tell her that everything was going to be okay. Janet stood there, still in her work clothes, her big blue eyes looking up at Rachel, sympathy spread across her face. She pulled Rachel into a big hug as she let out a sob.  
"I just wanted to be happy, you know, Janet. Is that too much to ask?" Janet took hold of Rachel's shoulders and held her at arm's length, staring up into her big brown eyes.

"No, of course it isn't," Janet replied as she let out a tear. "So are you going to let us in, or are you just gonna leave us here, standing in the doorway?"

" 'Course," Rachel stepped aside to let Janet in, leaving the door on the latch for Nick, if he decided to come back.

Rachel followed Janet into the kitchen and poured them both a drink, wine for Janet and tea for Rachel. It was strange watching her best friend gulp down wine while she was sat drinking tea, it was usually the other way round.

"What if Nick doesn't come back, Janet?" Rachel asked tearfully.

"He has to come back, all his stuff is here!" The response didn't seem to impress Rachel. Seeing the look on her friend's face, Janet continued. "Open you eyes, Rachel! He loves you! And if he doesn't come back, then it's his loss, we'll get you through it!"

"Who's 'we'?" Rachel replied. "There is no 'we', I only have you!"

"Me, Gill, Ade, the girls. Taisie adores you, you're right up there with Lady Gaga!"

Rachel managed to smile at Janet, as if to say thank you. "What would you do if you were me?"

Janet looked down, almost sorry for what she was about to say. "Honestly? I'd wait to see if Nick came back and if he didn't, I'd get rid of it." Tears were falling thick and fast from Janet's eyes now. She thought about how much losing Joshua had hurt her. Aborting a baby that you loved must feel the same. They were still part of you. She didn't want Rachel to have to go through that. "No. You can't get rid of it. We'd make it work somehow. You love this baby, you can't let it go."

Rachel was crying as well now. "I could always move. Move cities, move countries, move continents."

"What?" You can't move to the other side of the world, Rach!" Janet stared at her in disbelief.

"No. You're right. I was thinking London, maybe."

"Rachel, you can't leave Manchester!" Janet became tearful again.

"Why not? Rachel replied. "There's nothing here for me now Janet!"

"You've got me and Ade, Gill, Alison, Kevin!"

"Kevin?!" Rachel replied. "What's Kevin ever done for me?!"

"Nothing, but I know he's got a little bit of a thing for you," Janet smiled smugly.

"Has he?" Rachel sounded shocked.

"Yeah! Have you not seen the way he looks at you?!" Janet couldn't believe that Rachel didn't know.

"You know, I've always liked Kevin, ever since I started in MIT," Rachel confessed.

The front door slammed shut and Nick walked in. "What's this about Kevin, then?"


	3. Chapter 3

Rachel was overcome with emotion. Happy that Nick had come back, worried because he had overheard their conversation about Kevin and uncertain - she didn't know what Nick would do next, how he would react. One feeling overwhelmed the others: love. She realised that she truly did love Nick and even though he had only been gone for a few hours, she had missed him more than anything and was delighted to see him again. _Him coming back means that he loves me too and wants this baby, doesn't it?_

Nick stood still, feet a shoulder width apart, arms folded. He seemed to want an answer from Rachel, an apology even. _Why should I apologise?_ Rachel asked herself._ I have nothing to apologise for. He overheard me saying that I like Kevin, so what? I said like, not love. I cannot love anyone more than I love Nick and he knows that. He's the one that should be apologising. He's the one that ran out and left me, not knowing if he was ever coming home again!_

"Well? Is this true?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. I said I liked Kevin, but I love you," Rachel put emphasis on 'you'.

"Janet, I think it's best if you left," Nick said, not taking his eyes off Rachel.

"No, Janet, I'd like you to stay," Rachel contradicted Nick as soon as he had finished his sentence.

Janet was sat on the sofa, unsure of whether to leave or to stay. She decided to stay, she was there for her friend, not for Nick to boss her around.

"Have you ever slept with him? Kevin?" Nick asked suggestively.

Janet scoffed. She could not believe this man! First he walks out on Rachel, leaving her heartbroken, and then he accuses her of cheating on him with Kevin! _The sooner Rachel gets rid of this knobhead, the better._

"What?!" Rachel found the idea ridiculous. Yes, she liked Kevin, she thought he was sweet, but she didn't love him. She wouldn't jeopardise her relationship with Nick with someone she didn't love.

"I think you owe me an apology, then," Nick demanded, fully believing that he was in the right.

"You need to get it into your thick head that I have not slept with Kevin and I never will. Oh, and I'm not apologising, so keep laughing, pal!" Rachel flounced off towards the bedroom.

"Is the baby even mine?"

Rachel reeled around in the doorway of the bedroom, shaking because she was so angry.

"I don't know, Nick, you tell me. Is the father of MY baby the man I love or a stupid knobhead that I work with?!" Rachel felt bad about saying that about Kevin. "You know what? I wish the dad was Kevin, he'd be so much of a better father than YOU!" Rachel screamed hysterically. She slammed the bedroom door shut, flung herself onto the bed and sobbed into her pillow. She was so angry right now! She knew she was going to forgive him though, she could never stay angry at Nick for very long.

By this time, Janet had been feeling awkward for some time. "I think I'm just gonna go," she said to no one in particular, and when no one replied, she slipped out of the front door, promising herself that she would call Rachel later.

Nick knocked on the bedroom door and walked in.

"Unless it's an apology, I don't want to hear it," Rachel said before Nick could even say anything.

"Rachel, I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that! I guess it was because I was jealous of Kevin. Rach, I love you so much, you have to believe me! I will never do anything to hurt you again. I love this baby, our baby."

Rachel looked up, mascara staining her cheeks. "If you love me so much, why did you leave earlier?"

"I went to get this," Nick replied. He knelt to the ground and pulled a diamond ring out of his pocket.

"Rachel Bailey, will you marry me?"


	4. Chapter 4

Rachel locked her car and walked into the police station. She was on time for once. In fact, she was early! A very rare occurrence for Rachel Bailey. She spotted Janet's Volkswagen in the car park and she knew that no one else would be in the office yet apart from Janet and Gill, giving her enough time to tell Gill about the baby. She may as well tell her about the wedding too. She needed to tell Janet as well, after all, she'd already decided that Janet was going to be her maid of honour. She was going to ring her last night but guessed that Janet had gone straight to bed when she got home, she'd had quite a lot of wine, even by Rachel's standards, and she wasn't the type to stay up late when she knew that she had work in the morning. As she walked, Rachel had a slight spring in her step and everyone that she passed could tell that she was happier than usual and were shocked that she was early. Even Richard, the constable on the front desk, was surprised to see her, raising his eyebrows as he looked at his watch.

"Morning Rachel," he called after her.

"Mornin' Rich!" she replied. She never called him Rich. She almost never acknowledged his greeting like that, he was lucky if he got a nod or a slight smile as she rushed into the station, trying to get to her desk before Godzilla noticed that she wasn't there. _God, Rachel Bailey is beautiful._

"Sherlock!" Gill called from her office, not even a minute after Rachel had walked in. She instantly knew that Gill was addressing her, not anyone else, and she looked in the direction of the SIO's office. Gill was sitting at her desk, a long, thin finger, painted deep cherry on the nails, beckoned Rachel into the office. Rachel groaned as she got out of her chair and made her way to the office. She was never called into there for anything good.

"Is there a reason why you have decided to grace us with your presence early this morning?" Gill asked more than a little sarcastically.

"Umm, well, there is actually."

_Oh God, Sherlock sounds serious._

"Shut the door and sit down, then."

As Rachel turned to shut the door, she gave a slight smile. It was nice that Gill cared so much. She turned back to sit down and as she sat, she subconsciously held her abdomen. It was then that Gill saw it. Wow, she was not expecting that!

"Congratulations," she said before Rachel had a chance to speak.

"What? How did you..?" asked the bewildered young detective.

"I overheard you telling Janet in the ladies loo that you think you might be pregnant and you're wearing a big fuck off diamond ring, Rachel!"

"Oh. Yeah." She'd forgotten about that.

"Why don't you get back to work before these lot think that there's something wrong?" Gill suggested, nodding towards the rest of her work force, who were just arriving.

"Right. Thanks Boss," Rachel said with a smile as she got up to leave.

Gill closed the door behind Rachel and leaned against it. "Smarmy bastard," she remarked to herself. She meant Nick, not Rachel. The truth was that Gill didn't want her best detective to marry that toffee-nosed barrister Nick Savage. _Huh! About as savage as a wet sponge!_ She chuckled to herself. She'd met him once, at last year's Christmas party. He was even more stuck up than she imagined. And as for raising a baby, he'd be like someone who didn't know their arse from their bloody elbow! If Rachel loved him, she was more of a mitmop than Gill had thought. Ha! She could talk, what about all those years with Dave? Nick actually reminded Gill of her ex-husband. Mr 'High and Mighty', swanning around like he owned the place. She hoped to God that Nick was nothing like Dave once you got to know him.

Rachel sat down at her desk and pretended to be working on some interview prep until Gill had stopped watching her and went back to work.

"Hey Jan," Rachel whispered to her best friend, who was submersed in her work, as usual.

"Hmm…" Janet replied, only half-heartedly, not taking her eyes off her computer screen.

"No, Jan. Look!" Rachel sounded like an impatient child, but she didn't care. She held up her hand so that Janet could see the ring.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Janet. "Hey everyone, Sherlock's engaged!" Janet called across the office.

"And she's pregnant, too!" Gill added, hearing Janet's announcement and coming out of her office.

The air was full of joy and everyone congratulated Rachel. Everyone was smiling. Everyone except Kevin, who had a face like thunder.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is for Melissa, the chapter was her idea!**

**Please review!3 **

Kevin's mouth opened in astonishment. He felt like his heart had been ripped out and shoved down his throat. _What? I thought she loves me. The cheeky sideways glances she gives me when Gill's not looking, the taps on the back she always gives me when she walks past my desk, the kisses at the end of her text messages. The interstitial cheese and pickle sandwich she made for me the other day, for God's sake!_ Kevin's eyes were welling up and he used all of his strength to try and stop any tears from falling.

"Are you okay, Kev?" Pete asked, concerned about his colleague.

"Yep. I'm fine. I just need to…" Kevin pointed to the door and grabbed his coat from the stand that was near his desk. A little brown box fell out of the pocket.

"Oh, I think you've dropped something," Mitch said, picking it up. He looked at the box. "Is this a ring?"

"Give it back!" Kevin snatched the box from Mitch and tried to hide it in his pocket.

"Are you going to give that to a girl?!" You could clearly hear the disbelief in Janet's question. Kevin never had a girlfriend.

"Jeez! It's like the whole office is getting engaged today!" Gill joined in.

"So who's the lucky lady, Kevin?" Rachel asked.

Kevin went bright red and ran out of the door and down the stairs. Everyone turned to look at Rachel.

"I didn't mean to upset him!" Rachel protested. "I'll go see if he's okay."

As Rachel left, something clicked inside Janet's brain. "Oh my!" Janet turned to Gill. "Kevin was going to ask Rachel to marry him!"

"What?! You are ridiculous. Goodbye." Gill turned and went back into her office, closing the door behind her. _Kevin can't ask Rachel to marry him, she'd never say yes. She'd break his heart and then he really would be useless!_

Rachel found Kevin in the canteen, sitting alone. There was no one else there, it was still only 7:30. She sat down opposite him.

"I'm sorry, Kevin. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's not that." Kevin looked at his lap, unable to look into Rachel's eyes.

"So what is it?" Kevin looked sheepish. "Come on, I'm your friend, you can tell me." That was it. Rachel was Kevin's friend, nothing more.

"Okay, you've got to promise not to interrupt. There's something I need to tell you."

"I promise," Rachel replied.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Ke-" Kevin put his finger on Rachel's lips.

"Ssh! You promised." Rachel closed her mouth. "I mean I LOVE you, Rachel Bailey. Ever since you walked through that door 18 months ago, I've felt a special connection between us, you must have felt it too. Every time you touch me or smile at me, my insides feel like jelly, and I normally answer you with a stupid reply, and you think that it's because I'm thick, but it's not. It's because when you look at me, my brain doesn't function properly, the case doesn't matter anymore, all I can think about is me and you together. I love everything about you: your clothes, your hair, your smile. I just think you're beautiful. I don't think that I could love anyone as much as I love you because there's no one prettier than you or more fun to be with. When you have the day off work, I long to see you. At the weekend, my heart aches for you. When I see you with Nick, it feels like my heart has been ripped out. You don't want to marry a hot-shot barrister like him, I know you don't. We could have it all, Rach. A big house, kids, a dog if you want! Just tell me you love me too and I'll be the happiest man alive."

"But obviously you love someone more that you love me, Kev. You bought a ring for them, you were going to ask them to marry you."

"I bought that ring for you, Rach." Kevin looked away again, as if he was embarrassed about it.

Rachel gasped. _He was going to propose to me?_

Rachel got up out of the plastic canteen chair and leaned over to kiss Kevin on the forehead. As she went to kiss him, Kevin looked up, curious as to what Rachel was doing. Their lips met and it was like a thousand fireworks had been let off inside Kevin's mind. He thought it wasn't possible but he loved Rachel even more now.

Rachel was the one to pull away first, horrified at what had just happened. She knelt down so that she was looking up at Kevin.

"Kevin, this is the nicest, cutest thing that anyone has ever done for me. I wish I could say yes, but I don't love you, I love Nick. I think you're sweet and one day you're gonna make a girl really happy, but that girl won't be me."

Kevin nodded.

Rachel stood up and walked back to the office. A single tear fell down her face.


	6. Chapter 6

It was lunch time and Janet and Rachel were in the ladies loo.

"What? So he just confessed his love for you there and then?" asked Janet from inside the middle cubicle.

"Pretty much, yeah," Rachel, who was sitting on the side by the sink, replied.

"Wow."

"I know." Rachel pulled her legs up and tucked her knees under her chin.

"Rachel, I know that tone. You can't seriously be considering saying yes," Janet asked as a sort of half question. She couldn't believe how stupid her best friend was being. As much as she hated Nick, she thought that Rachel marrying him was for the best. She was carrying his child and he loved her with all his heart. She didn't hate Kevin though, she just thought that he wouldn't make a very good husband. He'd never do anything romantic, he wasn't the type, and she knew how much of an arse Nick could be, he'd make sorting out custody and visiting hours to see his child a nightmare.

"I don't know what I want anymore, Janet. Bloody Kevin had to go and mess everything up again. Before he said that, I knew what I wanted, I'd never been more sure of it in my whole life."

"Well, do you love Nick?" Janet asked, coming out of the cubicle and going to wash her hands. She thought it was simple. Rachel should marry the man she loves.

"Yes, of course I do."

"And do you love Kevin?"

Rachel paused for a moment. "Yes, I think I do," she replied.

xXxXx

Kevin and Mitch were in the men's toilets. He still felt a bit shook up about what had happened in the canteen earlier, but he didn't let it show.

"So Rachel admitted that she's loved you ever since she started working here?" Mitch asked with raised eyebrows. He doubted this was true.

"Yep, too right she did!" Kevin knew this wasn't true but he didn't want everyone in the office to know that he had cried when Rachel walked away and had practically begged her to ditch Nick and marry him instead.

"Oh, right. So why hasn't she said anything before now?" Mitch knew that Kevin had a tendency to stretch the truth now and again.

"Because she's too nice, obviously! She didn't want to hurt Nick and she didn't know how I felt about her, she didn't want to look like a complete knob in front of the whole office." _Like me, I mean._

"Are you two getting married then?" Mitch asked, expecting Kevin to say yes and to ask him to be his best man, he was just about the only person in the whole station who didn't think that Kevin was a total waste of space.

"Nah, I told her to stay with Nick, didn't I?" Kevin thought it was obvious. Mitch looked confused. Kevin tried to explain. "She's having Nick's baby and she lives with him. I decided to be the bigger man, she said she loves both of us so I thought that it would just be easier to let her marry Nick." I sound like quite the hero, Kevin thought to himself.

xXxXx

"What do you mean 'yes'?!" Janet asked. She was in complete shock at what Rachel had just told her.

"God, how simple is it, Janet? I love Nick and I love Kevin too." Rachel looked up towards the ceiling, trying to fight away tears. She felt so bad about telling Kevin that she didn't love him and leaving him in the canteen, silently sobbing to himself.

"But how? You haven't told me anything and we tell each other everything, Rach."

"Well I didn't know myself till a few hours ago, Janet. It was just what he said to me in the canteen, you know? He said he thinks I'm beautiful and he could never love anyone as much as he loves me. He said his insides go like jelly when he looks at me." Rachel gave a small laugh. "He was saying all this stuff to me, Jan, and I don't know. I get this warm, fuzzy feeling inside when I see him but I didn't realise that I loved him until I had to turn my back on him and tell him that I was still going to marry Nick. And as for the kiss…" Rachel shrugged.

"Woah, what? You kissed?!" Janet was in even more shock than she had been in earlier.

"Yeah, it was just an accidental kiss, it didn't mean anything."

"Not to you, but it probably meant the world to him! You've got yourself into some deep shit, Rachel, and you need to get yourself out, quick, for all our sakes!" Janet looked at her watch and saw that her lunch break was nearly over. She picked up her handbag from the side and left Rachel to sit there and think about things.

xXxXx

"Look, Kev. I don't mean to sound rude, but are you sure that Rachel loves you? She's not your type and, well, she's with Nick."

"I know she's with Nick, but only because I told her to be with him. If I hadn't, she'd have dumped him by now and we'd be engaged. And what do you mean 'not my type'? She is my type! Tall, skinny, nice hair. Actually, I could imagine me with a supermodel on my arm!" Kevin joked as he reached to open door to go back to work. As he opened it, Rachel was coming out of the ladies opposite.

Rachel looked up from the floor to see Kevin coming out of the toilets. She realised that she had this feeling in her stomach, she didn't know what it was, she'd never felt it before. She'd definitely never felt it when she looked at Nick. She then knew what she had to do, it was so clear to her.

"Yeah, I decided. I will marry you."


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel put her key in the lock and opened the door of the flat she shared with Nick.

"Nick?" she called out.

"Hmm," Nick replied. She walked further into the flat. Nick was sat of the sofa, leaning forwards, with his head resting on his hands. "You okay, hunny?" he asked.

"Yeah." Rachel sat down on the end seat of the corner suite. "The strangest thing happened at work today."

"Really? What?" Nick seemed distant. He thought that Rachel was going to say that the case took a turn in a different direction, that the good guy ended up as the murderer, or something like that.

"Kevin proposed to me." Nick looked up at Rachel and she looked straight into his eyes.

"What? You're joking, aren't you?"

"No." Rachel's eyes began to fill with tears, she didn't know why.

"I hope you set him straight: told him that you love me and we're getting married and that you don't love him," Nick said, expecting Rachel to say that she told him and that he shouldn't worry about it. A few tears fell and Rachel tried to hide them by putting her hand in front of her face, but Nick had already seen them.

"Not exactly." Rachel looked at her feet, ashamed of accepting Kevin's proposal while she was still engaged to and living with Nick.

"What did you say to him, then?" Nick looked confused.

"Well, I sort of told him that…" Rachel trailed off, unable to tell Nick the truth. She felt so bad about the whole thing.

"Told him what?" Nick was starting to get worried by now.

"That…that I'd marry him," Rachel replied quietly.

"What?! Why the hell did you tell him that?!" Nick stood up so that he was looking down at Rachel.

_God, for a barrister, Nick sure is stupid!_

"Because…" Rachel sighed. "Because I think I love him."

"You _think_ you love him?! So you're not actually sure?" Nick asked angrily. "You've told a man that you _think_ you love that you'll marry him when you're already engaged to someone that you KNOW you love?!"

Rachel looked sheepish, the same as Kevin did just before he told her that he loved her. Her heart was racing and she now understood how much courage Kevin had to tell her and how hard it had been for him. This made her love Kevin more.

"Yeah, erm, I don't think I love you anymore." There was no point 'beating about the bush', as Gill would say. The fact was that she didn't love Nick anymore, she couldn't think of a better way to put it. She'd much rather just tell him and get it over and done with than draw it out and have a long, complicated break-up.

"You don't love me anymore?! Rachel, I don't understand where this is coming from, you were perfectly happy this morning, you were even talking about venues and dates for the wedding!"

"It's just some things that Kevin said earlier. He confessed everything to me and now when I look at him, I get a feeling inside of me, I'm not quite sure what it is but I know that it's a good sign. I've never felt that with you. I didn't know that I loved him a couple of hours ago, it just hit me when I said no at first and had to walk away from him. I'm sorry, Nick, I tried to say no and to tell him that we we're getting married but I think my feelings are too strong. He knows my feeling towards him and so does everyone else. I don't think that anyone can accuse me of keeping it a secret now. You can still see your baby," Rachel put a hand on her abdomen. "I won't stop you doing that."

"That's fine," Nick said bitterly. He seemed to be taking it pretty well. Rachel knew he was fuming inside though. "I think it's best if you just pack up your stuff and go straight away."

"I live here, where shall I go?" Nick surely couldn't be throwing someone who was carrying his child out onto the streets. Rachel's eyes began to well up again. _God, I've got to stop crying at every little thing_, she thought to herself and she raised her hand to wipe the tears away.

"I think you should have thought about that before you started messing about with Kevin. I knew this baby wasn't mine, it's obvious when you think about it. You had a fling with Kevin and tried to hide it by saying that the baby's mine but now you have feelings for each other. You really are stupid, aren't you, Rachel?!"

"What?! How many times have we been though this, Nick?! Even though I don't love you now, I thought I loved you then, I wouldn't have been unfaithful to you! I won't stop you seeing your child."

"Ha! I don't want to see it, I don't want anything to do with it! How can I if I don't know if it is mine or not?! I hope it grows up knowing what a stupid bitch its mother is!" Nick strode across the room, into the bedroom and started throwing Rachel's clothes into a black bin bag. Rachel just stood in the doorway, horrified about what was happening.

"Nick, you can't do this!" She ran after him as he went to open the front door. He threw the bag out into the corridor. He grabbed Rachel by the arm and pushed her out of the door too.

"I hope you and your fiancé and very happy together," Nick spat out while he threw another bag out of the door. And with that, he shut the door on Rachel and shut her out of his life.

xXxXx

There was a knock on Kevin's door. He put down his hot chocolate, got up off the sofa and went to answer it.

"Rachel?" He was shocked to find his new fiancé on his doorstep, tears staining her cheeks.

"Hi. Nice outfit!" she remarked, pointing at his Batman pyjamas. "Don't you think you're more suited to play Robin?" she asked.

"Piss off, I'm Batman!" Kevin replied, a little hurt. He tried to make Rachel laugh, but it just made her cry harder. Rachel told Kevin about her break-up with Nick and Kevin invited her in. She sat on the sofa while he made her a cup of tea.

"How are my two favourite girls, now?" he asked as brought in the mug of tea.

"I think I'm fine now that I'm with you." Rachel smiled at Kevin. "And how do you know it's a girl?" She raised her eyebrows at him. "Anyway, it's Baby GaGa until it's born, I promised Taisie."

"I just have a feeling." Kevin replied. He reached out and placed a hand on Rachel's small bump. "Hello, Baby GaGa," he said to it. Kevin felt a push on his hand and he immediately lifted it away, thinking he'd done something wrong.

"Did the baby just kick?!" Rachel asked. "That's really uncommon at only 3 months."

"Yes," replied Kevin, and he put his hand back on Rachel's abdomen. "Shows our baby's gonna be a little fighter!"

"Our baby?" asked Rachel, wondering if she'd heard him right.

"Yeah, well I thought that since Nick didn't want anything to do with it, I'd be the closest thing to a dad that it's ever gonna get," Kevin replied.

"Aw, Kev, that's so sweet!" Rachel said as she put her hand on her bump too. "Me and your daddy love you so much, you know kid," she said to her baby. Kevin put his arm around Rachel and she snuggled into his neck. She leaned in to kiss him and this time, the fireworks were there for her too.

xXxXx

It wasn't long until Rachel was asleep. She had nothing to worry about now, she knew Kevin was going to be the best dad in the world.


	8. Chapter 8

**A little part of this is dedicated to Gabby because of our conversation last night. She'll probably know which part I mean...**

It had been 4 months since Rachel moved in with Kevin after her break-up with Nick and Kevin had gone on a lads night out with Mitch, Pete and Lee, leaving Rachel and Janet to look at wedding magazines and to sort out what was left to organise. They were due to get married in 6 weeks, two weeks before the baby was due to be born. Rachel had made her views very clear, she wanted to get married before she had the baby, even if she did look like a beached whale, she didn't want it to be born a bastard.

The doorbell rang and Janet and Rachel looked at each other in surprise. They weren't expecting any visitors. Rachel, who was the closest to the door, got up and waddled to answer it. She opened it and the woman who was at the door was the person she'd least expect to turn up unannounced.

"Boss?" Rachel said.

"Aah, good," Gill said. "I thought I'd got the wrong house, no way could Kevin have a house as nice as this but there you go, life surprises you every day." She walked up the few steps and squeezed past Rachel.

"Why don't you come it?" Rachel muttered under her breath but Gill didn't hear.

"Gill?" Janet called from the kitchen. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I couldn't let you two plan the wedding without the maid of honour here." She winked at Rachel. Gill walked into the kitchen to find Janet sat at the table, thousands of wedding magazines open on various pages. She looked at the closest one to her, the only one open on a page with a bride's dress on it. The dress was white satin and was supposed to be loosely fitted. A little trail fell down at the back and the top half had lots of tiny white beads on. The strap was designed to go around the neck, showing off the wearer's breasts.

"Good," Gill remarked as she looked at the dress. "I see you've gone with the dress I suggested. 'Make the most of you assets', that's what I always say. Besides, they're gonna be huge because you're pregnant," Gill said, looking at Rachel's boobs.

Rachel felt slightly uncomfortable at this, after all, Gill was still her boss. "Erm, thanks. I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or…"

"No, no, it's definitely a compliment." Janet nodded in agreement with Gill.

"Right, okay." Rachel felt quite flattered. "Shall we move on?"

"Yes, what am I wearing?" Gill asked, quite excited.

Rachel showed Gill a picture of the dress she will be wearing. "You're going to have the darker one, the same as Janet and Melissa, Kevin's sister, and the younger bridesmaids are going to be in the lighter one." Rachel was having 6 bridesmaids all together. The dresses were going to cost a fortune but Kevin had told her to go ahead and buy them anyway. 'No cost is too expensive for my princess,' he had said.

"That's lovely, Rach!" Gill exclaimed. Gill had never called her Rach before but ever since Rachel had asked Gill to be her maid of honour, she had got a lot softer and less of a bitch. Rachel didn't tell Gill that it was Janet's idea to ask her though.

Rachel winced slightly, feeling a pain in her abdomen.

"Are you alright, Rach?" Janet asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The baby's kicking a hell of a lot tonight, that's all." She smiled weakly at Janet.

"Oooh, can I feel?" Gill asked excitedly. Janet had never seen Gill this excited, not even when she was pregnant with Sammy.

"Yeah, of course you can," Rachel said and Gill leaned across the table to feel Rachel's bump.

"Wow," Gill remarked, amazed. She's forgotten the excited feeling you have when you're pregnant, it had been so long since she'd had Sammy. "Have you thought of any names yet?" she asked.

"No," Rachel replied. "We thought that we'd get the wedding out of the way first and then think about names."

"Oh, okay."

"Rach." Janet looked thoughtful. "Is its last name going to be Lumb or Bailey?"

"Ooh, good question!" Gill replied, still in SIO mode.

"Oh, God. Don't mention this to Kevin. It'll all start up again."

"What's up? Trouble in paradise?" Gill asked teasingly.

"No, everything's fine. It's just that I had this conversation with Kevin last night and we were up until the early hours deciding." Rachel raised her eyebrows and Gill nodded. She knew what Kevin could be like. "I want it to be Bailey, keep the name going. It's not Alison's last name any more and Dom says he'll never get married so if it's a boy, I want him to carry the name on. But Kevin wants it to be Lumb. He spent an hour and a half last night telling me his family tree and how his Great Uncle Mark was a brain surgeon. God knows what that's got to do with our baby's surname." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"So did you decide, or was Kevin being a complete, well, Kevin?" Gill asked.

"We sort of came to an agreement. I agreed that its last name can be Lumb as long as I can choose their first name and Kevin can't complain. I still want it to Bailey but I said that to shut him up. Part of me thinks he's right, though. What have the Baileys done? Nothing. I don't know where my mom is, my dad's a drunk and my brother's in prison. It's probably best if it is Baby Lumb."

"It will be perfect, whatever you choose," Gill said softly. Rachel thought that she could see a tear forming in Gill's eye, but it could have just been the lighting. Gill realised that she still had her hand on Rachel's bump and swiftly removed it.

"Right, are we going to get on with this wedding planning, now?" Janet asked jokingly.

"Certainly," Gill replied. "Oh, Rachel, you have to have champagne as well, it's so lovely."

_Trust Gill to think about alcohol,_ Rachel thought.

xXxXx

Two hours and four bottles of wine later, Janet opened the door to leave.

"You don't have to go so soon, you know, Janet. You're always welcome here," Rachel said to her.

"I know. Thanks Rachel, but I'd better get this one home," she replied, motioning to Gill, who was slumped across her shoulder. "You never learn, do you?" Janet asked Gill. "Four bottles of wine, Gill? You're not as young as you used to be!" This made Rachel chuckle.

"Bye bye, Baby GaGa," Gill whispered, stroking Rachel's bump. "Your Auntie Gill loves you very much."

"Come on Gill, we need to get you home!" Janet tried to drag Gill out of the door.

"Bye, Rach," she said. Rachel leaned in to give her a hug and Janet kissed her on the forehead.

"Look after yourself," she told Rachel. She closed the door and Rachel stood in the hall, smiling to herself.


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is dedicated to Melissa because she is a little bit in love with Rachel/Kevin and is, well, amazing!**

Rachel stepped out of the vintage Rolls Royce wedding car and put her hand on her hips. Even though she had stopped having morning sickness by now, she still felt really rough. The baby had been kicking nearly all night so she had gotten hardly any sleep.

"Come on, you don't want to keep Kevin waiting," Julie said as she got out of the car too, dressed in a grey suit designed for a lady. To be honest, it didn't look much different to her work suits to Rachel. As they approached the church, Rachel saw all of her bridesmaids huddled together and Mitch waiting for Rachel to arrive so that he could tell the vicar. All of the bridesmaids looked lovely. Taisie, Elise and Holly, Alison's daughter, were in lilac dresses with no straps with a piece of dark purple satin tied around their waist, forming a bow at the back. Melissa, Janet and Gill wore the same but the colour was deep purple with a cream bow and it was pulled in at the waist because Gill wanted to show off her figure. _Typical Gill,_ Rachel had thought.

"You look lovely, Rach," Mitch said before he went into the church to tell Kevin and the vicar that Rachel had arrived. Fashionably late, of course. Rachel Bailey could never be on time for anything, not even her own wedding.

After Mitch had said that, Gill turned around to look at Rachel, a bottle of gin in her hand. "Well, look who it is. It's only my favourite detective and Baby GaGa!" Gill rushed over to stroke Rachel's bump. She had a habit of doing that when she'd had a drink or two.

"Gill Murray, are you drunk already?!" Julie asked, shocked because it was only 11:30.

"What's it to you, you fat arsed bitch?" Gill asked, slurring her words a bit.

"You're supposed to be the maid of honour, not the fucking village drunk!" Julie retorted back.

"It's alright, no one will notice," Gill insisted. Julie just raised her eyebrows, knowing better than to argue with Gill when she was drunk. Besides, it was Rachel's day.

"Auntie Gill, are you sure you're okay? You wouldn't like a cup of coffee or something?" Taisie asked, worried.

"No, I'm fine, kid," she replied, tapping Taisie on the head. "I don't know why everyone's so worried."

Mitch had come back out by now. "If you want to get ready, Rach, the vicar said he's about to start."

Rachel took a big breath and followed her bridesmaids into the church.

xXxXx

As the music started playing, Kevin turned around to look down the isle. The bridesmaids came down first, the younger ones with baskets, scattering rose petals down the isle. Melissa came next. Kevin hadn't seen his little sister for ages and thought that she looked beautiful in her dress, her curled hair was remarkably pretty. Janet and Gill walked down the isle next, Gill stumbling a few times. Everyone could tell that she was drunk. Then it was Rachel's turn, lead by Julie. Kevin stared in awe at his wife-to-be. He had never seen anyone more beautiful than Rachel Bailey, soon to be Rachel Lumb. Her hair, her make up, everything was perfect. As she got to the top and Julie took her bouquet, Rachel looked into Kevin's eyes and gave a small excited smile. Kevin wanted to say something romantic but he couldn't find the right words.

"Jesus, your tits look HUGE!" was all that he managed to say and the whole church erupted with laughter.

"Thanks, Kev," Rachel said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," he replied. Sarcasm wasn't Kevin's strongest point.

xXxXx

The vicar had stared with an opening prayer and a worship hymn had been sung.

"Kevin, do you take Rachel to be your wedded wife, and in the presence of these witnesses, do you vow that you will do everything in your power to make your love for her a growing part of your life? Will you continue to strengthen it from day to day and week to week, with your best resources? Will you stand by her in sickness or in health, in poverty or in wealth and will you shun all others and keep yourself to her alone as long as you both should live?" the vicar asked.

"I will," Kevin replied.

"And Rachel, will you have Kevin to be your wedded husband, to live together in the covenant of faith, hope and love according to the intention of God for your lives together in Jesus Christ? Will you listen to his inmost thoughts, be considerate and tender in your care of him, stand by him faithfully in sickness and in health, and above all others, accept full responsibility for his every necessity for as long as you both shall live?" the vicar asked Rachel.

"I will," she replied.

Rachel heard a soft sniffle from behind her and turned to see who it was. She thought that it might have been Janet. It wasn't, it was Melissa. Melissa had never thought that her big brother would ever get married, let alone marry someone as kind and beautiful as Rachel. She was so happy for them both and the ceremony just got to her, it was so beautiful. Gill, who was standing next to her, reached out an arm, placed it on her shoulder and hugged her from the side. Melissa bust into tears at that moment and flung her arms around Gill's neck, squeezing her so tight that Gill thought that she might turn blue.

Rachel turned back to the vicar.

"Kevin, do you have your vows?" he asked.

"Yes," Kevin replied. "I've written them myself." The whole church 'awww'ed.

"If you would like to proceed," the vicar went on.

"Rachel Bailey, I love you so much. I get a funny feeling inside of me every time you look at me. I don't know why you chose me, there are so many other people out there but I guess you can't help who you fall in love with. Even though you've only known that you love me for a few weeks, I've known that I love for years. I feel a special connection between us and now I know that you feel it too. I just think you're perfect. So in the name of Jesus, I Kevin Lumb take you, Rachel, to be my wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow." Kevin put the piece of paper back inside his pocket and looked up to fine Rachel and everyone else, even Gill, crying.

"What's wrong, Rach?" he asked.

"Nothing, that was so beautiful," she whispered to him.

"Ian," the vicar said. "Do you have the rings?"

Mitch got up and gave the rings to the vicar, who gave one each to Rachel and Kevin.

"The ring is a symbol of the commitment which binds these two together. There are two rings because there are two people, each to make a contribution to the life of the other, and to their new life together."

Kevin slid the ring onto Rachel's finger. "Rachel, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and affection. Wear it in peace always," he said.

Rachel put the ring on Kevin's finger and said, "this circle will now seal the vows of our marriage and will symbolise the purity and endlessness of our love."

The vicar took over from here. "Because Rachel and Kevin have desired each other in marriage, and have witnessed this before God and our gathering, affirming their acceptance of the responsibilities of such a union, and have pledged their love and faith with each other, sealing their vows with the giving and receiving of rings, I do proclaim that they are now husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

As Kevin stood of tip toes to kiss Rachel, the church erupted with claps and cheers.

"I love you, Mrs Lumb," Kevin said to Rachel.

"I love you too, Mr Lumb," Rachel replied.

Kevin and Rachel walked down the isle, hand in hand.

As they got to the bottom, Rachel felt a stabbing feeling.

"Aaaargh!" she screamed out in pain.


	10. Chapter 10

**This is the last chapter because I thought it would be nice to end it on Suranne's birthday.**  
**The chapter is dedicated to Melissa because she has helped me with some of the ideas, she's an amazing bridesmaid and her reviews always make me smile. And also to Sophie and Sarah because they review like every chapter and are just fab!**

The ambulance bed crashed through the maternity hospital doors, a trail of people dressed in wedding attire followed.

"This is Rachel Lumb, 38 weeks pregnant, complaining of abdominal cramps. 10mg of morphine was given at the scene, blood pressure 130 over 90, oxygen levels 90%," called the paramedic.

They wheeled Rachel into the Emergency Delivery room and Kevin went in with them. A midwife showed everyone else: Janet, Gill, Melissa, Julie, Taisie, Elise, Alison, Mitch, Pete and Lee, into a waiting room.

"Get him out of here!" Rachel screamed at the midwife, pointing at Kevin. "I don't want him here!"

"If you would like to step outside and we'll tell you when Mrs Lumb wants you to come back in," the midwife said to Kevin, opening the door. Kevin stepped outside, feeling helpless. He couldn't bare to see Rachel in this much pain.

xXxXx

Back in the waiting room, everyone was tense. They knew Rachel and the baby were going to be fine, but that didn't stop them from worrying.

"For God's sake, Gill. Will you take that stupid thing off your head?!" Julie asked tensely, pointing to the small cream fascinator that Gill had insisted on wearing for the wedding.

"Yeah, sorry," she replied, pulling it off. Seeing her young detective in so much pain had seemed to sober her up a bit.

"Mom, is Rachel going to be okay?" Taisie asked tearfully. She loved Rachel and couldn't bare to think about what she must be going through.

"Yeah, of course she is!" Janet replied, hugging her youngest daughter.

At that moment, Kevin came in looking upset. He sat down in a chair between Gill and Julie and put his head in his hands. Everyone thought that something bad had happened.

"Kev, is Rachel okay?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah, she's okay, I think. She doesn't want me in there though," he replied and started to cry.

"Hey, come on. What's all this for?" Gill asked, putting an arm around Kevin.

Kevin looked up at Gill. "Have I done something wrong?" he asked.

"No, why would you think that?"

"Well, she doesn't want me there. I thought I'd done something," Kevin replied.

"Of course you haven't! You've just got married, you can't have done anything wrong!" Gill insisted. Kevin still wasn't sure so Gill continued. "Look, you've lived with Rachel for the past 6 months, you know what pregnant women can be like. She probably just doesn't want you to see her like that, you've just got married and she's not exactly looking her best."

"Yeah, I guess so." Kevin looked into Gill's eyes. "She's going to be okay though, isn't she?"

"Of course she is, Kevin! Lots of women have babies every day. Eh, if I can do it, she can do it, with knobs on!" Gill replied. This reply seemed to satisfy Kevin and he gave Gill a small smile.

Melissa, who was sitting next to Elise, got up and went to sit on the floor in front of Kevin, so that she could look at him. He was looking at the floor again and she looked up at him, trying to get his mind off Rachel and to think about the baby instead. "Have you thought of any names yet, Kev?"

"No, we thought we'd wait until after the wedding, but it seems that Baby GaGa had other plans." He winked at Taisie. "I really like Nicholas for a boy but I don't want to suggest that because it might remind Rach of her ex boyfriend and she really doesn't want to be reminded of him. Whatever its name is, Rachel promised me that its last name could be Lumb as long as she can choose its first name. I'm thinking about asking if it can be Bailey though, the Baileys are so much better than the Lumbs. All that stuff I told her about Great Uncle Mark being a brain surgeon to persuade her was a load of rubbish."

"We have a Great Uncle Mark?" Melissa asked, confused.

"No, I made him up," Kevin replied.

"Oh, but the Lumbs are great, look at me!" she said, flicking her hair back as if she was a model or something. "Why do you want it to be Bailey?"

"Haha, yeah, look at you!" Kevin smiled, stroking Melissa's hair. "And because the baby isn't really mine, it would be wrong to let it think otherwise. Besides, I know Rachel really wants it to be Bailey, to carry her last name on."

"Oh," Melissa replied. "It could be Lumb-Bailey, or Bailey-Lumb," she suggested.

"That's a sweet idea but I don't think that we'll do that," he replied.

"Oh," Melissa looked disappointed.

xXxXx

At least an hour later, a midwife entered the room. No one knew the exact time because no one had remembered to wear a watch, not even Gill, the most organised person in the world.

"Mr Lumb?" the midwife asked, looking at Kevin. "Rachel's asking for you."

Kevin stood up, his hand shaking and his heart racing. He was going to meet his child for the first time. He walked into the delivery room next door and saw Rachel sitting up in the bed, a little pink bundle in her arms. He rushed over and kissed Rachel. He looked down at his daughter and smiled. "I love you," was all that he said.

The rest of the MIT force has come in a few minutes after Kevin. Rachel guessed that the midwife had said that it was okay. They all took turns looking at the baby, still calling her Baby GaGa.

"She's beautiful, Rach," Janet said, the last person to see the baby. "What are you going to call her?" she asked excitedly.

_Oh God!_ Kevin thought. _Why did we not think of this sooner?_

"We haven't decid-"

"Suranne," Rachel interrupted Kevin.

"Suranne?" Kevin looked confused. "Darling, don't you think that's a bit of an odd name? A bit old fashioned?"

"After my great grandmother," Rachel replied. "Her name will be Suranne Lumb."

"No," Kevin said to everyone's surprise. "Suranne Bailey. She will always be a Bailey."


End file.
